Of continuing annoyance to the mechanic or vehicle owner is the awkwardness and messiness of removing the fluid drain plugs from engine oil pans or sumps in automobiles, trucks boats, or the like. When removing the plug from the oil sump, the mechanic often turns the plug by hand until the last thread disengages, and then attempts to snatch the plug away from the on-rushing stream of often hot oil, trying not to drop the plug into the used oil receptacle. Too often, the plug slips and falls into the oil change pan and the mechanic must grope in the dirty oil to retrieve the plug. In other instances, the plug may become lost or mislaid, in effect disabling the vehicle, and requiring that another plug be obtained and installed before adding new oil and starting the engine.
Various prior art devices have attempted to solve the above problem, many of them incorporating long rods and offset turning arrangements such as represented by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,686,749; 1,687,980 and 3,049,334. Other devices, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,806,396 and 3,731,722, have attempted to generally solve the problem of retaining a bolt, nut or pin in tool. These devices have often been expensive to produce, awkward in use and undesirable for the purposes proposed herein.
The present invention includes a socket having a plug retaining magnet therein. The socket is fitted over a drain plug and is rotated, thereby removing the plug from the sump and retaining the plug within the socket. The socket is tethered to an anchor which is readily connectible to a vehicle frame member or the like, to prevent dropping and/or misplacing of the drain plug.
The principle objects of the present invention are: to provide a drain plug holder assembly adapted to receive and securely yet detachably retain a drain plug therein; to provide such a plug holder adapted for insertion of liners therein to accommodate a plurality of variously sized drain plugs; to provide such a holder assembly having flexible means tethering the holder to a structural member; to provide such a holder assembly having an anchor for detachably connecting the holder to a vehicle frame member or to an engine portion; to provide such an assembly having wrench means associated therewith for loosening the drain plug; and to provide such a drain plug holder assembly which is relatively inexpensive, sturdy and efficient in use and particularly well adapted for the intended purpose.